All posts tagged Mark Pearce

Congressional Republicans are invoking a little-used oversight tool to try to overturn a National Labor Relations Board rule aimed at speeding union-organizing elections, an early indication of their plans to challenge the Obama administration’s regulatory agenda. Read More »

The National Labor Relations Board is marking Labor Day with a mobile-phone app to inform workers, employers and unions about their rights under the decades-old labor law.

“The promise of the law can only be fulfilled when employers and employees understand their rights and obligations,” NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce said in a statement. The agency received more than 82,000 public inquiries last year about workplace issues, and “this app can help provide the answers,” he said.

The new members of the National Labor Relations Board are gearing up for work after a string of swearing-in ceremonies, and will meet next week for orientation about their quasi-judicial roles overseeing union elections and settling management-employee disputes.

It marks the first time in a decade that all five board seats are filled with members who have been confirmed by the Senate, which eliminates a variety of questions over the past few years about the board’s legitimacy and ability to make decisions.

In 2010, for example, the board was operating with just two members and had been doing so for more than a year, raising questions about whether that was an adequate number to issue case rulings. The Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that two wasn’t enough, and that the board needs a quorum of three to conduct most of its business… Read More »

President Barack Obama has nominated two of the recess appointees he installed on the National Labor Relations Board last year, setting the stage for a likely battle with Senate Republicans over their confirmations.

The White House said Mr. Obama has nominated former Democratic Labor Department official Sharon Block and former Democratic union lawyer Richard Griffin Jr. to the board. In January 2012, Mr. Obama installed them on the board while Congress was on a holiday break in a move that sidestepped the Senate, angered Republicans and led to legal challenges.

A federal appeals court ruled last month that Mr. Obama violated the Constitution by installing the two Democrats and a Republican who has since resigned on the NLRB. The decision strips the board of key powers and could void many of its actions over the past year, though the White House has said the court’s ruling is unprecedented and contradicts the practice of both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Labor board Chairman Mark Pearce has said the board would keep conducting its business as usual and believes the appointments will be upheld. Read More »

he National Labor Relations Board quietly became a partisan group on Monday, a day after its lone Republican member's term expired at an agency charged with settling labor disputes in private-sector workplaces.

The departure of Republican member Brian Hayes will likely heighten the criticism by Republicans and business groups that the current board favors unions over employers. Though the federal agency is considered independent, its five-slot board is run by presidential appointees. Democrats have held the board majority for most of President Barack Obama's term.

Mr. Hayes' departure won't change that, of course, but it will eliminate what has typically been the only voice of dissent about board rulings and decisions. When board Democrats approved a new federal rule last December designed to speed and streamline union-organizing drives, Mr. Hayes symbolically rejected it by choosing not to vote. He likewise opposed board Democrats last year in a ruling that employer groups said endorsed the formation of so-called union mini-bargaining units in workplaces. Without the filing of written dissents, the board could issue decisions more quickly because dissents can slow the process. The absence of written dissents could also weaken appeals of board decisions because plaintiffs often cite the legal analysis used in dissents to bolster their court cases. Read More »

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.